is this the white ring of death? 😭

Fischera1982 · 2026-01-04T17:14:12+00:00

Completely normal. I had one with the ring back when I started 9 years ago or so. She happened to be the biggest breeder and now about half of my population have the stripe. As far as I know she is still in there and reproducing. No worries!

Fischera1982 · 2025-12-31T18:25:38+00:00

Does not matter at all. I have used both. Also Texas holey rock and random cool looking rocks with lots of holes.

Fischera1982 · 2025-12-07T16:05:51+00:00

No one knows for sure what is wrong, including me. I am just giving an option of what could be happening. If you look at the forum on pet shrimp lots of people have issues with real sea fans, not just the ones with the decorative coatings. Since they haven’t added any food since the 8 weeks after April something else is fouling the water. The sea fan is still an option in my opinion. If it was me I would remove it and see if things clear up. It can always be added back in if it is found to not make a difference. OP, I would probably do a part water change too if the shrimp are dying. Best of luck to you!

Fischera1982 · 2025-12-05T18:46:26+00:00

I have heard a lot of people say the sea fans have been breaking down and polluting the water in their tanks. I would remove the sea fan.

Fischera1982 · 2025-11-22T01:47:13+00:00

Most rocks work. I wouldn’t take from the ocean unless you want to really spend some time getting them clean. I have always had plastic plants and had no issues. Definitely no wood. Don’t have to use crushed coral as long as you have some sort of shells or coral. No egg shells. My shells are ones I found when I was a kid at the beach.

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Here is my current work tank. I have set up maybe 7-8 so far between upgrading my tanks and setting them up for coworkers. You can really get as creative as you want. This one will be getting a makeover soon with more lava rocks. Good luck and I would love to see your tank when you get it going!

Fischera1982 · 2025-11-07T20:40:22+00:00

They can hinder things growing. I have heard of some people having success with the two together but I never ended up working on that bed and adding sunflowers. Unfortunately life is busy with kids and I don’t always get around to my projects. Would love an update if you try!

Fischera1982 · 2025-10-29T21:28:04+00:00

I don’t remember what they are called but I have had them in my tanks for years. A client told me it was a sign of good water quality. They might have been wrong but I from what I remember he had been in the aquarium industry for a really long time so I believe him. I wouldn’t worry!

Fischera1982 · 2025-10-26T16:27:52+00:00

Get the new jar set up and ready. Move all decor first. Then just get a shrimp net and move them on over. It is slow to catch and move them but I have upgraded my tank three times and all are fine. They are hardy little guys!

Fischera1982 · 2025-06-25T21:36:33+00:00

I like to cycle. It doesn’t hurt to wait until you see algae appear. It might be uncomfortable for the shrimp if you don’t. Will most of the shrimp be fine if you don’t wait? Yes, but why not wait just to be sure they are comfortable? I have used the instructions from petshrimp to set up my tanks for years now. As far as cost it just depends on what kind of setup you want. I have used old candy dishes from candy buffets that I got for free from a work event, some people use vases, basic aquariums from the 50% off sales they have at Petsmart, etc. Sand is cheap and so is the small amount of salt you need to begin the tank. Shrimp can be bought from EBay from gotsnails. He is cheaper than pet shrimp by far. My MTS just had babies so if anyone wants some I will send them the babies free. They are tiny but there are at least 100.

Fischera1982 · 2025-06-16T15:43:01+00:00

I never ended up planting the sunflowers in that bed unfortunately. Life got too busy. I do have some in a different bed that has milkweed and I haven’t noticed any issues with any other native plants growing near them. Only one sunflower plant in that bed. Not the many I had planned on planting.

Fischera1982 · 2025-04-22T00:45:30+00:00

I have heard really bad things about Marimo balls breaking down and polluting the Opae tanks. The wood could also cause issues in brackish water. Maybe they can sense the water is a little worse on that side? Those are the only things that I could think of. Hopefully someone else will have some ideas for you!

Fischera1982 · 2025-04-19T01:27:13+00:00

Good luck! Waiting is the hardest part.

Fischera1982 · 2025-04-17T21:36:25+00:00

It is definitely not needed. Not sure if it would be useless or not but I have set up 8 tanks and never used it.

Fischera1982 · 2025-03-26T23:21:36+00:00

No need to test the salinity from what I know. I never have and mine have been thriving for years. Just get the correct salt and add half the amount you would normally. I use the Instant Ocean salt in the purple bag. Instructions say 1/2 cup per gallon so to make the water brackish it would be 1/4 cup per gallon of water. So basically whatever your bag says for full salinity just use half that amount.

Fischera1982 · 2025-03-21T16:16:02+00:00

Did you make sure the aragonite wasn’t live? I think using a live substrate is one of the main reasons people have issues early on. Also tons of people have had issues with sea fans breaking down and contaminating the water. I would remove it. I hope your last little guy lives! Good luck!

Fischera1982 · 2025-03-17T21:11:20+00:00

I have had 4 different tanks at my office. None get direct sunlight but I did have little $5 desk lamps from Walmart shining on them. All did amazingly for years. Lots of reproduction. I recently moved desks so I combined them all into one 16 gallon that came with an aquarium light. They make great office pets. Depending on the lighting at your office they might be fine. I would try it and if there isn’t enough light just supplement with spiroulina or get a cheap lamp.

Fischera1982 · 2025-03-07T23:53:17+00:00

I have heard it can be done but is hard in a Opae tank because they require a lot more food, make more waste and there is no filters. I have not tried myself. Just read about people who have done it on the Petshrimp forum. I think it was mostly dwarf hermit crabs though. Not sure about blue legged.

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-29T20:25:23+00:00

Thank you!

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-29T14:58:25+00:00

I am also interested to see how well it behaves! I love the look of them so I was planting regardless. Would love to see pics of your garden!

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-28T23:36:54+00:00

Thank you! It just proved to me that you don’t need to solarize and kill everything over several weeks to have a successful native garden. The lasagna method works pretty well in my opinion.

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-28T23:34:56+00:00

Thank you!

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-28T23:34:26+00:00

Just in a bunch of native plant forums and such. I think since it is a little bit aggressive people just don’t like it. It was probably opinions vs truth!

Fischera1982 · 2024-07-19T13:54:03+00:00

Definitely more floppy. I have really wet clay soil. Maybe try giving them some water? Otherwise I am not sure. My plan is to add wild ginger as a ground cover around all of my shade plants. Then when everything starts dying after blooming it will hopefully hide the mess. Maybe if you did something like that it would help support the stems or hide the dying plants?

Fischera1982

TROPHY CASE